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ITRR, I've used the prescription Lidocaine patches for several years for neuropathy pain in my ankles. They're fairly effective and I do not take narcotic pain killers. They are expensive even with drug coverage. I use them at night, so my ankles don't keep me awake from pain. I tried the Salon Pas and they weren't nearly as effective.
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Becky, thank you for that information. I have prescription lidocaine patches and they just numb everything, no heat or anything. They are very effective at stopping pain.
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ITRR, the Salon Pas patches I use are OTC and provide no heat or cold. I think they're only .4% lidocaine but they're good enough for my needs.
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Would salon pas work for sciatica? I herniated a couple of discs about 15 years ago. I have a TENS unit. This most recent flare up causes significant pain.
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OK then. Check with your doctor.
Side effects requiring immediate medical attention
Along with its needed effects, LIDOCAINE TOPICAL may cause some unwanted effects. Although not all of these side effects may occur, if they do occur they may need medical attention.
Check with your doctor immediately if any of the following side effects occur while taking lidocaine topical:
Rare
Blistering, crusting, irritation, itching, or reddening of the skin
cough
cracked, dry, or scaly skin
fast heartbeat
fever
hives or welts, itching, skin rash
hoarseness
irritation
joint pain, stiffness, or swelling
large, hive-like swelling on the face, eyelids, lips, tongue, throat, hands, legs, feet, or genitals
noisy breathing
swelling of the eyelids, face, lips, hands, or feet
tightness in the chest
trouble breathing or swallowing
Incidence not known
Blistering, bruising, burning, discoloration, itching, redness, or swelling at the application site
bluish-colored lips, fingernails, or palms
blurred vision
chest pain or discomfort
cold, clammy, or pale skin
confusion
dark urine
dizziness, faintness, or lightheadedness when getting up suddenly from a lying or sitting position
drowsiness or dizziness
false or unusual sense of well-being
fear or nervousness
headache
irregular, fast or slow, or shallow breathing
loss of consciousness
no blood pressure or pulse
pale or blue lips, fingernails, or skin
puffiness or swelling of the eyelids or around the eyes, face, lips, or tongue
rapid heart rate
seizures
shakiness in the legs, arms, hands, or feet
slow or irregular heartbeat
sore throat
stopping of the heart
trembling or shaking of the hands or feet
twitching
unusual bleeding or bruising
unusual drowsiness, dullness, tiredness, weakness, or feeling of sluggishness
Side effects not requiring immediate medical attention
Some side effects of lidocaine topical may occur that usually do not need medical attention. These side effects may go away during treatment as your body adjusts to the medicine. Also, your health care professional may be able to tell you about ways to prevent or reduce some of these side effects.
Check with your health care professional if any of the following side effects continue or are bothersome or if you have any questions about them:
Incidence not known
Bad, unusual, or unpleasant (after) taste
change in taste
cold or numbness
confusion about identity, place, and time
continuing ringing or buzzing or other unexplained noise in the ears
double vision
hearing loss
heat sensation
lack or loss of strength
metallic taste
sleepiness or unusual drowsiness

After using Lidocaine 5% Ointment (expired) on my lowest spine, piriformis muscle, I am feeling a false or unusual sense of well-being. Ahhhh. Yep, Lol, I don't care. It is so nice to have pain relief.

Disclaimer: It is a prescription medication, to be taken seriously. Whatever you do, wash your hands, do not touch your eyes. When receiving this medication, it had a chart with how much dosage per inch on a chart-follow all instructions.
Max. dose is 6 inches (per day?)
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My husband's PT said to get a cream or ointment OTC with a high concentration of Menthol, rub that on the painful parts.

It is said best to treat at the origin of sciatica pain because it is not advisable to slather the Lidocaine or Menthol up and down the entire back, leg, and ankle, foot and toes.

Look into Voltaren Gel to reduce inflammation of the sciatic nerve. imo.

An online poster stated: "Some people who suffer from sciatica pain turn to topical relief including Salonpas patches, creams and liquids. “I have a lot of sciatic pain,” reports a woman on a web discussion board on sciatica. “I do slow, deliberate stretches and for trigger points, my go-to is Salonpas Pain Relief Patches.”
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All: Thank you so much for your concern. I have posted my dialogue to the My "Whine Moment Today" thread since that was where I had posted my OP. Thank you again, dear friends - truly, you mean the world to me.
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Anche: I'm attempting to recover; thank you.
PB: Thank you.
Countrymouse: Yes, I did seek additional help at the hospital. I'm not one to wait anything out; thank you.
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Had a really nice day! Took a trip to the grocery for weekly supplies which includes 2 gallons of milk and 6 cannonball watermons... yes I did day 6. The foster son is on a watermelon spree and eats almost a while one a day, well a grand-nephew or two helps him out occasionally. I was initially worried he was eating too much melon but he's eating other foods well too so I'm letting him indulge. Then we watched 4 movies: Venom 1 &2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 1 & 2 (a rainy day).

The doctor says the kid had subpar nutrition for only a few months in recent history (probably once his father got sick) and he will recover quickly with good food. He's gained 7lbs and his color and energy already seems to be improving. This week we will go shopping for some jeans and shirts and maybe take in a skate session - they are short (2 hours) during the summer afternoons.

I had to go to the wall with a guidance consular to get him the elective he wants in the fall. He is going to take all the vocational courses offered thru high school: auto mechanics, wood working, welding 1 & 2 (which earns a certificate), electrical wiring, etc. He seems excited to see which one might tickle his fancy for technical training after high school as an alternative to college. Although he might be he's starting to believe I expect him to stay for a while. I think he likes auto mechanic; he helped me change the oil and top the fluids in my car last week as well as clean it out from a 7 year olds melting ice cream cone.

My 7 year old grand-nephew likes having foster son around... because I now have all the fixings in the fridge for taco wraps and beef-n-cheddar wraps and vegetable beef soup and chicken noodle soup and beef and broccoli plates... plus watermelon!
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Noticed a delay in delivery of private messages. A glitch in technology that is likely not limited to the AgingCare website.

Carry on, "as if" things are all okay.
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TNtechie, regarding your [foster son?] and figuring out possible future careers... IMO electric cars/trucks will be here sooner rather than later, and there will be very little to do on cars of the future. Maybe better as a hobby... But welding is another story. There is a shortage of welders. Training between 6 months and 2 years, and some get paid 6 figures their first year out. Some employers will pay for the training in exchange for a work commitment. No weekends, no overtime. Never "on call". Not a high-risk occupation. No college debt. A totally portable skill. Mike Rowe (the Dirty Jobs guy) has a great podcast and interviewed a young entrepreneur who is currently paying his welders this much and can't grow his business without more people -- he's literally begging people to go into welding. Robots can't go to a job site. My cousin just retired as a welder, still works some gigs cause they're so short but makes hella-bucks. Just a thought.
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Glad, from what I'm reading online lidocaine patches can help with sciatica. I'd talk to your doc to see if a prescription strength one would be your best option. I had sciatica when I was pregnant. Ouch ouch ouch...!
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I imagine there will still be a lot of car to fix beyond the actual engine even when there are no longer many fuel burners on the road 30 years from now, and all my major repairs have had to do with brakes, A/C, bearings and other parts of the suspension and drive systems. There will also probably always be gear heads with their classic cars.
Aside from cars there is still all that lawn and recreational vehicle equipment that nobody seems to be in a hurry about converting to electric, and semi trucks and heavy equipment are not going anywhere.
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TNtechie: What a wonderful opportunity you have given this foster son! Hats off to you!
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TN, I always said my nephews had hollow legs, the amount of food they could consume was impressive. Watermelon is such a great snack. What a great way to reaffirm that his needs are important. It's the small things that make great impressions.

Skating is a great way to get exercise and build stamina. Did you skate? :-) I love to and am happy we have a rink in my city.

It sounds like you are on a wonderful journey and having a great time with your son. Cuz ya know, you are going to be his mom forever, that's what a loving, secure base does for these youngsters that have lost everything and were blessed enough to find someone like you and your family to be their new family. They don't age out when a relationship has been created.

God bless you for what you are giving him.
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Real, I skated in my younger years but now my arthritis bothers so much I afraid if I fell I wouldn't be able to walk for weeks! I skate a little in the basement and under the basketball goal to encourage the youngins but otherwise my skating days are behind me.

I do remain one of the few adults that will take the kids skating for an entire 3-4 hour session. I even took the kids to an overnight skate when the oldest (at the time) was 13. We have a good skate ring but I knew there would be older and more people so the deal was I go and stay if you want to attend. Unless I'm taking the "littles" (kids under 12) I usually just do drop off and pick up these days.
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BTW: I do not expect him to age out. My comment about looking at this as an 8 year commitment was more about me looking at my health and being able to commit to being here for him. As doctors warned me my years of focused goal oriented living in spite of how much congestion I mained in my lungs (mostly from working in smoke filled offices until my 40s) has caused some right side heart failure. I'm recovering from a serious spell that devoped while I cared for my Mom during the covid scare. I'm doing well and probably have a good 20 years left; unless I do something stupid like I did in the last months I was taking care of Mom. I developed lung congestion normally associated with spring/fall and couldn't understand why I had ongoing problems or why it wouldn't clear, not realizing until after Mom died and I finally went to the doctor the congestion was fluid collecting in my lungs! I almost died of stupidity. I will be around for the kid as long as the Lord allows and I just pray it will be enough.
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Just a thought on gas powered vs. electric vehicles: the latter are still in the testing stage, and there have been problems, just as there were and still are with gas powered vehicles.

But one aspect which I haven't seen addressed in the hullabaloo over EVs is how everyone below certain income thresholds are going to be to afford these w/o going into great debt.

I couldn't possibly afford one; I don't even buy new cars; I can only afford used ones. An EV is and would still be entirely out of my reach, for the rest of my life, UNLESS the prices came down drastically, as in by tens of thousands of dollars.

I've been thinking about moving to the country and getting a horse with a small pull behind trailer instead.
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Another thing people aren't considering is that electric vehicles are not environmentally friendly and they use child labor to get the toxic materials for the batteries. Not to mention the electric grid in the USA needs major upgrading if they expect everyone to be charging their cars. Plus life span of said batteries and cost to either replace battery or just buy another car means more waste. Ironic they had some festival i think it was last weekend where they had an EV charging station which was being powered by diesel. Lol. This is like the CFL light bulbs that are filled with toxic mercury. Not really saving the planet but most people don't care as long as they feel good about thinking they are doing something.
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sp19690, many people aren't aware that currently (no pun intended) electric car batteries are very heavy and they cause the tires to wear out twice as fast. And who knows how hard they are on the wear of the roads. One of our clients is a "smart home" designer. In researching the field I'm learning that most cars right now sit unused 90% of the time. Many high-end home owners (in sunny states like TX and FL) are using solar to collect power and storing it in batteries in their garages for use "on demand" or selling it back to the grid. Electric car batteries can power most things in our homes in the event of an outage.
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My son and stepson both have BMW E10's and love them. They've had charging stations put in at their homes.
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GA - I too bought into the shtick that EV's too new, too experimental and too unsuited to a northern climate until I did a little research, check out what has happened in Norway!
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The most expensive vehicle I ever purchased was $16,000 for the truck I gave my nephew as a college graduation present (when he was in high school and I wasn't sure he would go to college). The car I drive now I paid $1,800 for, spent about $1,000 getting new tires, springs, muffer, spark plugs, and a good cleaning. Been taking it from 86,000 miles to its present 98,000 miles with only a couple of window motor replacements. I expect excellent service for years to come. I typically find a good used car for $2,000-10,000, although I am aided by a brother and a nephew to go over the car for mechanical issues. I cannot even buy the replacement batteries for a EV for that much!

I have no doubt someday EV technology will work out and/or fossil fuel technology will improve to greatly reduce environmental impacts. Just like the world was never buried in horse manure as predicted before the invention of the automobile. The power grid is not able to handle charging a lot number of EVs at present and I prefer the private sector pay for that build out - just like they did for gas stations. Big cities with air quality problems may benefit from EVs, semi-rural areas like mine to not. With the hills around here, there is not an EV on the market that can make it to either nearby major city and home again (Ashville or Knoxville) in the same day - going up hill for miles drains the battery too fast. A trip we frequently make to visit relatives or shop for a day or attend a show. Its just not practical here yet. Hybrids do not fair much better as the braking mechanisms used to recover potential energy screw up the handling on snow while driving on an elevation. At best you will need a fossil fueled backup vehicle. And lets not even get into the work trucks my nephew needs for his construction business.
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TN, I know you won't ever age him out.

At least you learned your lesson and now you know what is what with your lungs. I think we all tend to believe it will get/be better tomorrow, I have to be at the end of whatever is going on, etc, until we end up at the doctors /hospital because it just didn't go away. I know I am so guilty of that MO.

Super nice to have mechanically inclined family to check over used vehicles. We joke that my truck is so old it is able to legally purchase alcohol. Runs great, husband can fix anything going on with it and I can buy lots and lotslots of fuel for the cost of insurance alone.
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TN - what a blessing you are to that boy! You will do it right as you are doing it right. We called my oldest grandson the bumless pit - it started as the bottomless pit and morphed from there. I can see you are getting great enjoyment from watching him flourish. Long may that last.

I always buy at least slightly used cars. The you know they are in decent running order. A colleague at the college bought a new van and had troubles with it right from the start. They kept working on it till the warranty ran out and then he was stuck with a lemon - at great cost.

The flooring for the condo is in transit from Ontario and we are hoping it will yet be delivered today as rain is forecast for tomorrow the only rainy day in two weeks!!!
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😊
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Promising new research.

https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/cu-anschutz-researchers-identify-drugs-curb-alzheimers-symptoms/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h
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When people come to the forum and ask if the medication they've been given will help the answer often is probably not, but it never hurts to try. While they might not be curative it's nice to see a study that proves at least some of them really can be effective.
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Each member of the Avs gets to spend a day with th Stanley cup. The first day it goes to the captain. The keepers of the cup originally tried to deliver it to the wrong house! Landeskog's house was still a couple of houses down the street!😁😁❄❄⛄⛄🐧🐧

https://kdvr.com/news/local/stanley-cup-shows-up-at-wrong-house/

And landeskog helped out at Raising Kane Chicken yesterday! Busy, busy place. Parade today!
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Glad, I saw that on the news. Funny! One of the players dropped it on the first night during their team photo too! I wonder if that old cup will last the summer. LOL
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